Posted: Mon 16 Jul - 07:57 (2018) Post subject: It was Thorntons first of the season and first with

NASHVILLE – There were a group of them there from the Knights family at the local sports bar in London, Ontario watching Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final this past June. Luca Sbisa Golden Knights Jersey . They observed with no surprise whatsoever their former teammate scoring what proved to be the Cup-clinching goal with 59 seconds left on the clock at TD Garden. "The more pressure, the higher he rises," former Knights teammate Dylan Hunter told the Leaf Report. Boasting a pair of Stanley Cups to his name, Dave Bolland, a native of Mimico, Ontario, has made a striking impression in the initial days of his tenure with the Leafs. Known to possess a knack for winning, he has proved a versatile addition to the Toronto lineup and a particular favourite of head coach Randy Carlyle. "He always took his role," said Hunter, "and took it to the maximum that it could [go]." Linemates in London years ago, Hunter and Bolland were joined by Robbie Schremp on one of the most dangerous combinations junior hockey has seen in recent memory. Now an assistant coach with the Knights and still a close friend of the 27-year-old Leafs centre, Hunter recalls a player who owned a lot of the same traits which have found him success at the NHL level. "Hed piss a lot of people off just by the way he played," Hunter remembered, noting the grittier aspects of Bollands game. "But at the same time he was an offensive juggernaut I guess you could say in the OHL." Shortly after he swung the summer trade with the Blackhawks, Leafs general manager Dave Nonis hinted that Bolland might be capable of more offence in Toronto than he had provided in Chicago, his junior history lending credence to the theory. In his final season with the Knights, Bolland finished second in the OHL scoring race, totaling a sizeable 57 goals and 130 points. Crowding the charts, Schremp finished first, Hunter just a shade back in the fourth spot. "He was well-rounded when it came to his offensive skills," Hunter said of Bolland, who has scored 15 goals or more three times in six NHL seasons. Climbing up the lineup early this season, most recently onto a unit with Mason Raymond and Joffrey Lupul, Bolland has shown those gifts, tallying two goals and an assist in the first four games. "Hes got good skill with the puck, hes smart with it, he protects it well with his body and hes got a good set of hands so he can be very effective in making plays," Cody Franson explained to the Leaf Report, with the 26-year-old former Predator squaring off with Bolland in the first round of the playoffs in 2010, and the Blackhawks capturing their first Cup in 49 years later that spring. Though he was acquired with a well-rounded game in mind, hints of offence from the former Knight could prove consequential, especially with the loss of Mikhail Grabovski to a buyout this past summer and likely regression from Nazem Kadri, who raced to 44 points in 48 games last season. Now the boss in Toronto, Carlyle got his first hints of what Bolland could offer while he was still leading the bench in Anaheim. He took note of how his counterpart in Chicago, Joel Quenneville, employed the 2004 second-round selection, using him as a defensive matchup opposite the Ducks best weapons, Ryan Getzlaf and former Knights teammate, Corey Perry. "The little light goes on," Carlyle said recently. "You remember those things." Its that versatility which has made him an attractive asset to the Leafs head coach. He can employ Bolland in an array of situations – penalty kill, power-play, end of game defensive spots, top-6, bottom-6 – almost a plus-version of Jay McClement, the former bringing more offence to the table. "He was always that guy," Hunter recalled, "whatever the coach needed or the team needed he was always ready to fill that role no matter what." The Leafs got their first look at that "dynamic" ability in training camp. They took note of how strong Marlie-bound winger Spencer Abbott looked alongside Bolland and Raymond, quickly gleaning that Bolland was the instigator of such success. That look extended into the early stages of the regular season. Needing a more suitable match-up for Vincent Lecavalier and the Flyers second line early in the second game of the season in Philadelphia, Carlyle slid Bolland up onto a line with Joffrey Lupul and Nik Kulemin, replacing Kadri. His efforts would be rewarded. Bolland scored twice, including the eventual game-winner. Bolland has shown a knack for winning throughout his career, even stretching back to his junior days in London. The Knights were a fearsome juggernaut in 2005, led by the likes of Bolland, Perry, Hunter and Schremp, in addition to future NHL talents such as Brandon Prust, Marc Methot, and Dan Girardi. Not to be trifled with, London would march to a staggering 59-7-2 record in the regular season, outscoring foes by an incredible 310-125 margin. They would coast through the OHL playoffs with a 16-2 mark, capping a perfect hometown Memorial Cup with a 4-0 stomping of Sidney Crosby and the Rimouski Oceanic in the final. Five years down the road, Bolland would muster up eight goals and 16 points when the Blackhawks won their first Cup in the modern era, teaming with former Leaf Kris Versteeg and future Jets captain Andrew Ladd on a sturdy third line. Sliding down the depth chart in 2013, he would nevertheless string together three goals and five points in the Cup Final against Boston, his history-catching moment ending the Bruins season in Game 6. "Hes one of those guys that lives in the big situations," Franson said of Bolland. "Hes a guy that you can count on to be calm and confident in those last dying seconds in the defensive zone. Hes a guy that you can put out there to get the puck to the net when you need a goal. Hes just a guy that you can count on in a bunch of different circumstances. "Having went through what we through with Boston at the end of last year that experience wouldve been huge for us," he continued, referencing the stinging Game 7 loss to the Bruins. "Having that experience back there is just something that you cant teach." Its part of the equation that made him attractive to the Leafs this past summer. A more suitable fit for Carlyle than the soon-to-be departed Grabovski, Bolland finally became available after the Blackhawks victory, since Chicago needed to pay playoff star Bryan Bickell. The deal would cost the Leafs three draft picks, including a second-round selection in 2013. Sharing a house in downtown London with Bolland as a teenager, Hunter described Bolland then as "hyper" and someone who "was always up for anything", also chuckling at his buddys interest in furniture and interior decoration. "Were all still pretty tight," Hunter said of the group that captured the Memorial Cup that one dominant year last decade. "They always say, you win a championship with a team its something that bonds you and it did with us. Were still going strong, 10 years later." Like a lot of the old Knights, Bolland even bought a house in London. He and Hunter remain close, golfing and barbequing in the summer, his former teammate paying a visit to Toronto last week. Asked if he was surprised by the level of success Bolland had attained at the NHL level thus far, Hunter didnt blink. "No," he said. "Hes one of those guys that for as many points as he put up he was always a team-first guy. Anybody that watches him play knows that." William Karlsson Jersey . -- Joe Thornton scored the tiebreaking goal with 5:39 left in regulation to help the San Jose Sharks overcome a two-goal deficit to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-3 on Thursday night. Marc-Andre Fleury Golden Knights Jersey . - Leon Draisaitl scored a hat trick as the Prince Albert Raiders stormed past the Swift Current Broncos 5-2 in Western Hockey League action Tuesday. http://www.goldenknightsproshop.com/authentic-jake-bischoff-golden-knights-jersey/ .S. -- Carl-Antoine Delisle snapped a tie in the third period with his second goal of the game to lead the Tigres past Cape Breton 4-3 in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action Wednesday as Victoriaville won its eighth in a row.SUNRISE, Fla. - The Minnesota Wild started fast and finished strong.Jason Zucker scored two goals to lead the Wild over the Florida Panthers 4-1 on Monday night.Nino Niederreiter also scored for the Wild, and Mikko Koivu had two assists. Zach Parise added an empty-net goal with 1:29 left.Minnesota scored two first-period goals, then held off a late surge by the Panthers to win for the fifth time in six games and end a three-game road trip with four points.Real pleased with the battle level right from the start; guys were very engaged in it, Wild coach Mike Yeo said. For a good part of the game, our game looked the way it was supposed to look.Niklas Backstrom, making his sixth start of the season, stopped 29 shots, including 16 in the third period.We played a solid team game and started really well, Backstrom said. It was a solid 60 minutes and a good team game.Shawn Thornton scored for the Panthers, and Roberto Luongo made 35 saves.Minnesota took a 2-0 lead in the first period and outshot the Panthers 13-5.Zuckers first goal put the Wild ahead on their second shot of the game. Zucker took a pass from Koivu in the right circle, and his soft slap shot got under Luongos pads at 5:58.The Wild went up 2-0 when Niederreiter grabbed a loose puck in the neutral zone after it got away from a Panthers player and put the puck high into the net with 2:17 left in the first. Niederreiter leads the Wild with 10 goals and has six in his past six games.I was surprised the puck went there (the neutral zone), Niederreiter said. I tried to take my backhand and it worked out.Luongo was coming off a sseason-high 48 saves in a 3-2 overtime loss at Nashville last Saturday. Nate Schmidt Golden Knights Jersey. .Obviously, not the start we wanted, Luongo said. I thought I could have been better on the first two goals. They both went right through me; not the type of goals I would like to allow.Florida closed to 2-1 on Thorntons goal at 5:34 of the second. Thornton redirected a shot by Dmitry Kulikov past Backstrom. Referee Ghislain Hebert initially ruled it no goal because of a high stick, but the goal was awarded after a video review. It was Thorntons first of the season and first with the Panthers.The Wild stretched their lead to 3-1 on Zuckers second goal with 2:41 left in the second period. Zucker moved the puck in front and backhanded it off the post and into the net for his second multigoal game of the season.I just tried to get the puck on net, thats all that was, Zucker said. A lot of our mindset is just to shoot the puck and getting chances.The Panthers played their first home game after a four-game road trip, including three games on the West Coast, where they managed five points.Theres no excuses, Luongo said. We were just not ready to play from the start of the game. We cant spot the other team two goals and expect to come back every night. Thats not how this league works.NOTES: The Wild have won four of five and 11 of their last 14 against the Panthers, taking six of the past eight played in Florida. ... Niederreiter has 10 goals and three assists in the past 15 games. ... Panthers forward Sean Bergenheim returned to the lineup after missing 10 games with a lower-body injury. Cheap Jerseys 2019China NFL GearWholesale NFL T-shirtsWholesale NFL Autographed JerseysWholesale Jerseys Free ShippingWholesale NFL White JerseysChina NFL Gear ' ' '